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I dislike Szczur, but doesn't it seem like Law has some kind of extra motivation to belittle this guy?

He's had a weird thing against him for awhile. He wouldn't back off the Juan Pierre power comps even after Szczur hit 10 HRs in one season while Pierre has hit 17 in his entire career. There's definitely a chip on his shoulder about him for some reason.

But I think the 60 speed is "game speed" and not combine speed, and it might not be unfair.

Its possible he lost some speed. Could be a case where the number belies the game....Stepehen Hill ran a 4.3, but I have yet to see it on the field.

Szczur's fast and he still is. I think Keith struggles with his bullheadedness in regards to his evaluations on Szczur. I also think Keith Law is an arrogant douche who has really never accomplished anything of note within the game of baseball. Other than that I find his commentary entertaining.

Szczur's fast and he still is. I think Keith struggles with his bullheadedness in regards to his evaluations on Szczur. I also think Keith Law is an arrogant douche who has really never accomplished anything of note within the game of baseball. Other than that I find his commentary entertaining.

Not going as far as Marlin, but Law has always seemed to get a first impression about a prospect and then it's impossible to change his position after that.

Derp, poorly worded. I meant when he become a full time A+ player, i.e. he from from an A/A+ season to an A+/AA season.

His ISO jumped from .117 to .150 when he made the move from A to A+ in 2011, too, again recording half of his HRs in fewer games at the higher level.

I don't think he's been revealed to have a Juan Pierre power, and the power he displayed in 2011 didn't disappear. His swing just sucks, so contact issues will hinder him as he climbs the ladder. It's still fairly clear that he's a stronger athlete who hits the ball significantly harder than Juan Pierre, which KLaw has remained stubbornly reluctant to admit.

The point is that plenty of professional scouts who have seen Szczur play regularly don't put a lot of value in his future stock given the way he plays the game right now. I'm inclined to listen to them first.

I don't place a lot of faith in low minors ISO for guys with even above-average speed. It's easy to stretch out a lot of softly-hit doubles against minor league defenses.

4 home runs in a full season is awful power, especially when you consider the guy was old for his leagues.

Sure, Pierre isn't a perfect comp, but the "but he hit 10 home runs!" defenses are also looking a bit exposed.

I know your position on minor league ISO, but we're comparing him to Juan Pierre, himself a speedster who would've had the same advantage in the minors. Juan Pierre had a .070 ISO in class A.

4 HRs in a season is by no means great, but Pierre hit 1 HR in his entire minor league career.

Pierre: 1 HR in 315 minor league games
Szczur: 14 HR in 246 minor league games (plus a couple more in rookie and summer leagues)

That's not an "imperfect comp." It's an insult.

And that's all I'm saying. I'm not telling you to be excited about Szczur's power potential or anything like that. I'm just illustrating why KLaw rates dead last on the list of evaluators whose opinions on Szczur I'm interested in hearing.

I don't doubt he's fast - 60 speed is fast. It's that he's elite level fast. A possibly trivial detail online but an elite tool vs a solidly above average one is a difference.

60 is like plus or above average. I think a 4.4 guy has to be a bit better than that, especially in baseball where the field isn't loaded with 4.4 guys. It's just my opinion, that he is at least a 65, but it's not like I scout for a living.